[se] pushed from the precipice

Alys

Visiting King's End was a welcome reprieve from whatever was going on in Halo, with its too-warm weather and melting permafrost. Alys wasn't really sure what to make of the shift from Deepfrost to Flowerbirth, except that the sun had returned with a vengeance. Sascha, on the other hand, knew exactly how she felt about it. She was a creature of ice and snow, and to see it disappearing at a never-before-seen rate was troubling, to say the least. Or, at least, it would be, if she was older and wiser. For now, she was content to simply explore more of the world, and at this moment, that meant exploring King's End.

Alys had come to the region in search of Hotaru and Sunjata, and stayed for a while to get to know her best friend's new beau. So far, she thought them fairly well-matched, though she had her reservations about Sunjata. He'd made great strides in overcoming past trauma, to be sure, but she worried that his happiness with Ru would make him complacent. It would be vital in the coming days for him to continue working towards healing...

But those were worries for another day. Today, Alys had decided to take a look at the meteor site that had been whispered about since her arrival in King's End. So she meandered down a little path that seemed to have been made only recently, following the footsteps of those who had come to survey the site before her. Sascha lumbered along behind her bonded, playfully jumping from footstep to footstep along the path. When they arrived at the crater, the pair paused, looking out over its expanse and simply taking it in.

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

When news of a mysterious meteor crash site reached her ears, it was as though Caido had offered her another opportunity to quench her unending curiosity. With impatient anticipation, she set out on a journey to explore the unknown.

Approaching the site on lion's paws, her heart raced with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. The impact site, an otherworldly spectacle, was a convergence of celestial beauty and terrestrial mystery--at least, that is what her mind wove together. She couldn't help but trot towards the site, her thoughts racing, as she scrutinized the debris scattered around.

She had faced monsters and challenges throughout her life, forging her resolve. But now, with electricity storming in her veins Ellyra could hardly contain herself. She stepped up towards the site and looked down and--

oh.

Just a big, empty hole. The lioness blinked, her weight falling back on to her haunches as a sigh escaped her parted lips.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

Sascha was the first to realize that they had a visitor, and the little ursur cub sent a pang of alarm through the bond as she scampered behind Alys's legs, peering around them to stare with large, dark eyes at the lioness that had appeared at the edge of the crater. The seer, surprised by her cub's sudden rush of fear, reached instinctively for her bow; then, upon seeing the lioness, she paused. Lions weren't native to King's End, as far as Alys was aware, and this one's behavior suggested that it was rather more intelligent than the average beast. Perhaps it was simply an Attuned, here to investigate the meteor site, too.

Of course, there was always the chance that the lioness was, in fact, just a lioness out for a stroll, in which case she and her cub could be in a great deal of danger. And even if it was an Attuned, they might not be friendly. Still, if Alys drew her bow, then she'd be a threat, and whatever the truth of the lioness, she'd become an enemy. What was a seer to do?

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

Surprise and disappointment swam together, mixing to make Ellyra's mood drop to a dark, lackluster shade of blue. Lifting her head up, the lioness caught movement out of her keen predator's eyes and her body froze.

The seer's presence had gone unnoticed by Ellyra at first, and she couldn't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment for her lack of awareness. Ellyra quickly assessed the situation.

Ellyra decided to shift, not wanting to pose a threat. Her lioness nature balanced by her human reasoning. She held up her hands in a sign of peace and spoke with a warm smile, addressing Alys and her ursur cub. "I mean no harm. I was drawn to this extraordinary event, just as you were. It's not every day you come across a meteor site like this." She kept her palms up even as her warm smile faltered some, unsure how the stranger would react.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

The lioness shifted, and Alys relaxed as a young woman took its place. Sascha, having never seen an Attuned shift before, peered curiously around Alys's legs as the transformation took place, but she didn't venture closer, even when the stranger spoke in a gentle tone. She was a wary young cub, and it was a trait that Alys was beginning to appreciate. She couldn't imagine having a puppy-like companion who raced off to every new person as though they were her new best friend. No, far better for Sascha to be more standoffish. It was safer that way.

Still, the stranger didn't appear to mean any harm, and Alys returned the young woman's warm smile with one of her own. "It is truly extraordinary," she agreed, her posture relaxing as she shoved her hands into her pockets. "I only wish we had more information about what caused it. I'm Alys, by the way. And this is Sascha." At the sound of her name, the cub toddled out from behind her bonded, peering curiously towards the stranger. "Do you know anything about what happened here?"

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

When Alys stuffed her hands in her pockets and her wholly companion didn't charge her and attack, the lioness relaxed, too. Letting out the breath she had been holding just after she spoke, Ellyra turned back towards the meteor crash site. "No, not really. I saw the lights from my apartment window, and then I heard some skyboat sailors who were venturing this way and caught a ride with them." Which was totally by chance and a great deal more dangerous than Ellyra realized with the way the Stormbreak lightning storms were raging at the turn of the season.

She stepped a little closer and peered over the edge of the crater, kicking some loose rocks. They tumbled down to the bottom of the basin and settled there. Disappointment rang within the lioness once more. "I'm Ellyra. You from around here?" She asked, though the woman's clothing rang true of a more northern climate.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

"I just heard about the lights from a friend and thought it might be interesting to stop by," Alys said with a shrug. At least Ellyra had actually seen whatever it was that had allegedly crashed here. Even if just just looked like a shooting star or two. Alys remembered how upset Tal had been about the lights. There weren't supposed to be lights during LongNight, he'd said, and if whatever he had seen had caused this crater, she could see why he had been upset. This didn't look like the result of just a shooting star to her.

"I'm Alys, and this is Sascha. We're from Halo, but I think we've decided to do some traveling this season," she said by way of introduction. The cub, who had been watching "What about you? Where are you from?"

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

”I wasn’t really sure what to expect but two big empty holes wasn’t it.” Ellyra said, the dropping sides of her mouth a clear indication of her disappointment. She had built up so much anticipation while traveling here that she now started to feel the exhaustion of it — of the release of tension in her muscles, in the release of bones she didn’t know had been holding her body so tightly. It was like coming down from a high that you didn’t really want — like paint or stain or factory fumes. Ellyra didn’t like it.

Stepping back from the crater a few steps, the lioness turned and then closed some distance between her and the stranger. She smiled down at her little cub as it poked its head around her bonded’s knees. ”I definitely think traveling is a good idea. I’ve traveled quite a bit. I grew up in the Hollowed Grounds, but I live in Stormbreak now. I’m a nurse.”

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

The young woman voiced her disappointment, and Alys nodded her agreement. She'd expected more, too, and to find that there was nothing of note meant that, had she not been visiting Ru to begin with, she'd have traveled all this way for nothing. Fortunately, she'd come to King's End with multiple goals in mind.

Sascha snuffled the air as the Ellyra approached, intrigued by the lioness-turned-woman, but promptly hid as the woman smiled down at her, shy when the attention was turned on her. Alys shook her head affectionately. "I grew up in the Grounds as well," she said, eyeing Ellyra with renewed interest and trying to recall if she'd ever seen the young woman before. "I've been living in Halo since I left, though. I'm a seer."

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

The lioness' eyes widened with surprise and her jaw opened slightly. Her feet carried her closer to Alys without much though as she brushed golden hair from her shoulder. "My last name is Fox. My dad is a blacksmith." She smiled, a big wide friendly smile now, and rolled her shoulders. "Pretty good one if I say so myself. He still works there..." But Ellyra trailed off because the woman said she lived in Halo now, and she must have been there for quite a while because her face didn't seem familiar even as the lioness closed more distance between them.

"Like, a fortune teller?" The woman asked, her head tilting in an overtly feline way. An unmistakable curiosity made her honey eyes sparkle. "We could use one of those for some of our patients." Ellyra joked, but bit her bottom lip with apprehension for how the stranger would take it.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

Her name sounded, perhaps, vaguely familiar, but not enough that the seer could place it, so she simply shook her head and smiled. "It's strange, that we could all have been in the Grounds for all those years and still find people we've never met," she commented. Of course, the Grounds was a large area, and Alys hadn't been the most social of creatures even before beginning her journey as a seer. There were probably all sorts of people from the Grounds she'd never met, and this young woman was merely one of them.

Ellyra seemed more intrigued in Alys's profession, and the seer tilted her head to one side in thought at the question. "Of a sort," she agreed. "I read the tarot, and can give insights into a querent's life through the cards. Seeing the future, though, is difficult, because any decision we make, or any decision those around us make, have a million little impacts on how our future will go. So in terms of specifics, I wouldn't be able to predict, say, the hair color of the person you will marry, but I could tell you if love is in the cards for you." She smiled a little at her own joke. "Would you be interested in a reading? I would be happy to read for you."

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

The lioness listened carefully and intently as Alys described the finer details of what she could do. Ellyra felt a mix of curiosity and caution tingling in the base of her neck, but the deeply feline nature of her heart won out and you know what they say —

About cats and curiosity and all that.

Now, with the off color joke that Elyria made, it meant that her choices in times when her patients couldn’t make any would affect their futures. Sucking in a breath, Ellyra let herself sit. ”Yes, please.” Ellyra said. She crossed her legs and laced her fingers together, her feline curiosity at an all time peak.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd

Alys

Alys settled down on the ground, crossing her legs beneath her. She pulled out a small cloth and spread it over the ground before her - to keep the cards clean and to provide a reading surface - before revealing two decks from her pockets. "Which of these appeals to you?" she asked, gesturing towards the cards to indicate that Ellyra could take a look if she wished. The first deck was bright and airy, with alluring artwork and a welcoming feel; the second was darker and moody, yet no less enticing in its own way.

Once the deck was selected - and allowing Ellyra all the time she required to make her decision - Alys took the other deck and put it away, sending a silent pulse of love towards the cards to reassure them that, just because they weren't chosen, didn't mean they were any less wanted. With the chosen deck, the seer began to shuffle: first, riffling the cards and then overhanding them. There was no set time to shuffle; she would simply do so until she felt that the cards were ready to impart their wisdom. "Would you like a reading about anything in particular?" she asked. "Or simply a general reading?"

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

You steal the air out of my lungs, you make me feel it

Ellyra observed the decks Alys presented with feline curiousity, her eyes drawn to the first one—bright and airy, its artwork exuding a welcoming charm. The allure of its vibrant imagery spoke to her, and she reached for it, tapping the top card. "I'll go with the first deck," Ellyra decided, her voice carrying more than a hint of excitement. Alys's silent reassurance to the untouched deck did not go unnoticed, and Ellyra appreciated the sensitivity.

As Alys began to shuffle, Ellyra considered the possibilities. "Let's go for a general reading," she said a bit hesitantly, though her curiosity was piqued. The anticipation built as the cards danced in Alys's hands, each shuffle a whisper of potential revelations. Ellyra's mind buzzed with wonder, ready to uncover the insights that awaited in the magical tapestry of the chosen cards.

Ellyra

I pray for everything we lost, buy back the secrets

Code blatantly stolen from the fantastical, wonderful Odd